Celebrating Christmas is all about family relationships, bonding, and taking things slow, so you can catch a break from your busy life. There are many Christmas activities you can do or Christmas movies you can watch with your kids. However, you can also embrace the festive spirit by engaging in fun Christmas crafts with kids, which are an excellent way for kids to express their creativity and make Christmas much more special.
In this article, we’ll share 12 fun Christmas craft ideas for kids of all ages. Most of them are simple and easy to follow, so you can do them without making too much mess, yet the results are beautiful and unique Christmas decorations and personalized gifts for Christmas Day.
Whether you want to make DIY ornaments for the Christmas tree or a personalized hot cocoa kit for that movie night you have in mind, we have you covered, so just keep reading.
12 Fun Christmas Crafts for Kids
Christmas crafts make Christmas so much more jolly. And, just like everything else, it’s not about the destination or the final product, but the journey of creating something Christmasy that will give you that cozy holiday feel.
Paper Snowflakes
Paper snowflakes can take so many different mesmerizing patterns, which makes them the ultimate DIY Christmas decoration. Plus, they’re incredibly easy to make. All you need is a lightweight paper (white), a ruler, scissors, and that’s it. The hard paper makes sturdier snowflakes but they’re also harder to cut and shape, which can be a particularly challenging task for young children.
The process is pretty straightforward. Start by showing your child how to make a square (or two) from one regular paper sheet. Then, fold the square diagonally in half which will result in a triangle. Fold the triangle in half, making a smaller triangle. Now, divide the triangle into three equal parts. Use the ruler (protractor is better, but not necessary). Flip the left part over, then the right, and press. Make horizontal, random cuts to make a snowflake.
Paper Polar Bear Snowflakes
You can go one step further, and create amazing animal-shaped patterns, such as the Polar Bear Snowflakes by National Museum History. They use printables you can follow, but you can also make them the old fashioned way described above.
The trick is to cut a half bear shape once you fold the two sides of the triangle, which can be tricky, but you can print small bear silhouettes and outline them on your paper snowflake.
Paper Plate Christmas Tree
You can use paper to make not just snowflakes, but so much more, like Christmas trees. It’s an inexpensive and easy way to get creative for Christmas.
You can use a paper plate, or make circles from a hard construction paper and use that. You’ll need paper plates (alternatively, hard construction paper and compass), green paint, glue, and fluffy pom poms in different colors.
To make the Christmas tree, start by cutting a wedge from the center of the plate (or circle). Then, fold the plate into a cone shape and glue the overlapping sides. Once it dries, paint the cone green. Again, wait for it to dry, then glue the pom poms randomly all over the tree.
If you’re making your own circle from paper, you can control how big you want the paper tree to be.
Paper Handprint Christmas Tree
Another fun and unique way to make a Christmas tree from paper is to use handprints from all your family members. This way, you’ll have handprints in different sizes, which will give the tree a more natural look.
You’ll need construction paper in white and green or you can use green paint, paint, scissors, and glue.
To start, let your child outline their hand and cut the paper in the shape of their hand. After this, they can continue with the same process with you and the other family member. Make at least three or four handprints from each member, so your child can construct the tree.
Once the paper handprints are all gathered, start gluing them. The bigger ones go at the bottom and should be glued first, while the smaller ones go toward the top of the tree. In the end, the tree should have a cone shape. You can make it more festive by drawing on the handprints. Cut out a small brown rectangle (the tree trunk) and a star (top ornament) to make it look more realistic.
Paper Handprint Wreath
Alternatively, you can use the paper handprints from your whole family to create a festive wreath. Simply arrange and glue the handprints in a ring-shape, then glue a ribbon on top of the wreath.
To make it more beautiful, paint the fingers white, simulating snow. You can even draw circle ornaments or glue pom-poms in different colors.
Draw Christmas Ball Ornaments
To make beautiful ball ornaments for the Christmas tree you’ll need clear DIY ornaments you can draw, fill, or paint on. You can easily find these on Amazon or maybe even in your local shops.
You’ll also need brushes, paints, and a lot of creativity. There are no limitations to what you can create from the clear ball ornaments. First, you can let your child express their creativity by allowing them to draw whatever they like. Second, you and your child can draw different shapes and symbols associated with Christmas, such as a star, a snowman, Santa Claus, Santa’s hat, and so on. Third, you can write inspirational messages on them. How about drawing your family?
Hopefully, these suggestions will give you some perspective – but don’t limit yourself to these examples. Google some creative DIY ball ornaments for Christmas or let your child lead you.
Felt Candy Ornaments
Who doesn’t love candies? Children surely do. But, unlike real candy which can be unhealthy when eaten in large quantities (a real temptation for the holidays), you can entertain children by making felt candy which you can use as decoration for the Christmas tree or as a centerpiece on the Christmas table.
How to make them?
You’ll need craft felt strips (one inch wide) in many different colors, glue, lollipop sticks, a needle, embroidery thread, and small ribbons (optional).
To make candy, choose three to four strips of felt in a different color (for example, shades of blue or red, white, and green). Layer the strips one over another and roll them in a circle. To make the circle more secure, add glue while you roll. Finally, glue a lollipop stick and make a ribbon bow at the beginning of the lollipop stick.
To make wrapped candies, repeat the procedure until you make a candy circle. Then, cut two small pieces of ribbons and make a V shape cut in both of them. Press the other side of the pieces and glue them on opposite sides of the candy circle.
Sock Snowman Decorations
Do your children love Frozen? If yes then they’ll absolutely adore this easy DIY recreation of Olaf the charming snowman.
You can make Olaf from a white baby sock (bigger socks for a bigger Olaf), rice, white pom-poms, googly eyes, white hair elastics, orange and black markers.
Start by filling the sock with rice. Once you make a nice round ball secure it tightly with a hairband. Then, repeat the same process two times, to make three balls one over the other. The bottom one should be a little larger than the one on top. After this, glue white pom-poms in front of the bottom ball, representing Olaf’s legs, and the googly eyes in front of the top ball, representing Olaf’s eyes. Draw Olaf’s nose with the orange marker, while with the black marker you can draw the other details (smile, eyebrows, arms, buttons, etc).
Pinecone Tree
This one is really easy and fun to make, but it does require you to go on a walk in the park with your children. We believe that’s just another bonus, as you’ll get to spend more quality time together.
While walking in the park, look for fallen pinecones, which you can take home with you. Dry them out to prepare them for painting. Once they’re dried, you and your children can paint the pinecones in many different colors. However, you can also transform them into a mini Christmas tree. To do this, paint them green and splash a little bit of while (simulating snow). After this, glue small pom-poms in different colors.
Pinecones Ornaments
We already mentioned that you can paint the pinecones in many colors. They’re also wonderful ornaments for the Christmas tree, as centerpieces on the Christmas table, or as decorations by the window.
Best of all, painting them will entertain children for a long time without the need for you to spend a lot of money on fancy DIY materials.
Collect a lot of pinecones in different sizes and paint them with acrylic paints in all the colors you like. After this, attach a piece of thread to them, so you can hand them on the Christmas tree.
Paper Plate Christmas Masks
With one package of paper plates, you can make more than just DIY Christmas trees. Use the leftover paper plates to create wonderful Christmas-themed masks. Alternatively, you can also use hard construction paper, but make sure the paper is really sturdy and doesn’t break easily.
You’ll need paper plates, construction paper in different colors, white pom-poms, scissors, craft sticks, and glue.
We’ll go into the details of how to make a Santa and a snowman mask, but if you want to make something more, you apply the same principles with a google image from reference.
To make Santa, you’ll need to cut half of the inside circle of the paper plate. Then, cut a big (a little bigger than the paper plate) triangle from a red construction paper. On the base of the triangle glue a row of white pom-poms and then glue the triangle on the paper plate (on the hollow side). On the bottom of the paper plate, glue pom-poms to make a beard, and then glue a craft stick at the very bottom, so children can hold the mask.
To make a snowman mask, you’ll need two paper plates. Cut out the inside circle of one of the paper plates and glue the paper plates together, to form the shape of the number eight. Then, take a black construction paper and cut it in the form of a hat (just a little bigger than the paper plate). Glue the hat on top of the shallow paper plate. In the middle (when the paper plates attach), glue an inch of red paper strip (simulating a scarf). Finally, draw buttons in the middle of the full plate and glue a holding stick.
DIY Hot Cocoa Kit
How about making a hot cocoa kit for your family movie night? This one is a delicious craft idea that kids will enjoy. You can also help your child make it as a gift for a friend.
You’ll need acrylic paints, a mason jar with a lid, a square of festive paper (or fabric), cocoa powder, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and anything else you think will go well with hot cocoa.
First, take the mason jar and paint on it. Your children can paint anything they like, but since it’s a cocoa jar, tell them to draw a red circle and write HOT COCOA with white letters. Once it dries, fill the jar with cocoa powder (your favorite cocoa mix), chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, maybe oreo crumbs, or your favorite sweet snack. Place the festive paper over the opening of the jar and secure the lid.
When it’s time for hot cocoa, simply pour boiling water and mix the contents in the jar. We found that hot cocoa makes for a wonderful combo with Christmas movie night that can easily turn into a family Christmas tradition.
Before You Leave
Christmas is just around the corner, so hopefully, our Christmas craft ideas for kids helped you decide how to better spend the days leading to Christmas Eve. Making unique Christmas crafts is a good way to go, as it allows kids to be proactive and express their creativity. You, on the other hand, can relax and enjoy the process, as we made sure that our ideas are fun and easy, meaning they won’t frustrate or overwhelm you.
If you want more ideas on how to spend Christmas week by engaging the whole family, you can check out the other articles we’ve linked, or visit our blog, where we regularly share exciting pieces of information.
Additionally, don’t forget to check out our main website, where you can find our most popular worksheet bundles for this festive period – Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and so much more.
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